Toilet syncope guard

ABSTRACT

A syncope guard is disclosed for use with a person sitting on a toilet, or chair, or some other form of seat above a floor. The guard comprises a stand that is adapted to be mounted adjacent the seat, and a harness which is attachable to the body of the person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction, his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward condition above the floor, but once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor. It also comprises an alarm device, and an actuator which is connectable to the body of the person and operative to sound the alarm when the person&#39;&#39;s body slumps into the aforesaid downward position above the floor.

United States Patent Creelman Feb. 1,1972

[54] TOILET SYNCOPE GUARD [22] Filed: Mar. 2, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 15,467

[72] inventor:

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Scr. No. 736,659, June 13,

1968, abandoned.

[52] U8. C1 "128/133, l16/67,297/385,

340/279 [51 l Int. Cl. ..A6lf 5/37 [58] Field oISearch ..128/132, 75,133,134,135;

2,695,052 11/1954 Yates et a1. 119/96 X 3,167,068 1/1965 Carr ..128/75 3,397,482 8/1968 Bibeau et a1. ..119/96 X Primary ExaminerWm H. Grieb Attorney-Christensen, Sanborn & Matthews [5 7] ABSTRACT A syncope guard is disclosed for use with a person sitting on a toilet, or chair, or some other form of seat above a floor. The guard comprises a stand that is adapted to be mounted adjacent the seat, and a harness which is attachable to the body of the person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction, his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward condition above the floor, but once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor. It also comprises an alarm device, and an actuator which is connectable to the body of the person and operative to sound the alarm when the persons body slumps into the aforesaid downward position above the floor.

18 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 1 I972 SHEET 2 9F 2 TOILET SYNCOPE GUARD RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending but now abandoned application, Ser. No. 736,659 filed June 13, I968 and also entitled Toilet Syncope Guard."

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to syncope guards, and in particular to a guard of this nature for use with persons sitting on a seat above a floor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION INCLUDING CERTAIN OBJECTS THEREOF Whenever a person faints or swoons while in a sitting or standing position, there is always the possibility that his body will experience injury in the act of collapsing or falling to the ground or floor below. There is also the possibility that when the persons body strikes the ground or floor, it will not assume a position in which his blood can continue to reach his brainduring the period of his unconsciousness. Postsurgical.

and post partum hospital patients are particularly susceptible to so-called syncope reactions of this nature, and especially on those occasions when the patient must make use of a toilet during the period immediately following his or her operation or deliverypBecause of this, most hospitals make it a practice to station a nurse or other attendant with the patient on these occasions. However, the precautionary measure is wasteful of the nurse's time and in most instances is also embarrassing to the patient. Therefore, hospital administrators have long sought some means or technique by which the patient can be left unattended.

One object of the present invention is to provide a protective device by which such patients may be left unattended when using a toilet. Another object is to provide a protective device of this nature which operates to arrest the patients fall when he loses consciousness, but only after he has slumped forwardly and downwardly to such an extent that continued cerebral circulation can be assured. A still further object is to provide a protective device of this nature which is attachable to the patient in such a way as to not reduce his freedom of movement, or otherwise interfere with his comfort during periods of consciousness. Other objects include the provision of such a device wherein an alarm is sounded when the patient loses consciousness, so as to alert an attendant to his condition. Still further objects will become apparent from the description of the invention which follows hereafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects and advantages are realized by a syncope guardof my invention which comprises a stand that is adapted to be mounted adjacent the toilet or other form of seat, anda harness which is attachable .to the body of a patient or other person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction, his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward condition above the floor, but once he is in the latter position the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor. It also comprises an alarm device, and an actuator which is connectable to the body of the person and operative to sound the alarm when the persons body slumps into' the aforesaid downward position above the floor. In one embodiment of the invention, the. actuator is movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connectedto the actuator to sound the alarm by moving-the actuator in relation to the stand. Thealarm device, on the other hand; is fixedly mountedon the stand, so that the actuator is also movable in relation to it in sounding the alarm. In another embodiment. the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the device to sound the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand.

In both embodiments, a portion of the stand extends upwardly above the trunk of the person's body when he is in the sitting position, and the harness is suspended from a point on the aforesaid upwardly extended portion of the stand, and attachable about the upper trunk of the person s body. The harness is suspended on an elongated tether which is interconnected to the stand with sufficient slack to allow the upper trunk and head of the persons body to slump into the downward position above the floor, but to go no further. During periods of consciousness, the slack is taken up by a resilient tensioning device which is interconnected between the stand and the tether to cause the latter to assume a substantially taut condition while the person is in the sitting position. In those embodiments where the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, the tether may be connected to the device to actuate the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand. On the other hand, where the actuator is movably mounted on the stand, the tether is connected to the actuator to sound the alarm by moving the actuator in relation to the stand.

In the foregoing embodiments, the stand is supported on the floor. It has an inverted U-shaped configuration and is positioned at an angle to the floor, there being braces which extend from the stand within the angle to maintain its position on the floor. The braces may rest on the seat, or they may rest on the floor. Where the seat takes the form of a toilet seat which can be lifted from the bowl, the braces are interconnected by a crossbar which is inserted between the seat and the bowl to secure the braces to the seat under the weight of the persons body. In such a case, the braces and crossbar are pivotally connected to the stand. Where the braces rest on the floor, they may be rigid with the stand, or pivotally connected with It.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These features will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated three of my preferred embodiments.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the embodiment when in use with a patient sitting on the toilet;

FIG. 3 is a part perspective view of the alarm device employed in the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a part perspective view of a second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the third embodiment when in use with a toilet having a lift-up seat; and

FIG. 7 is a part front elevational view of the upper portion of the third embodiment.

Referring firstly to the embodiment in FIGS. 1-3, it will be seen that the illustrated syncope guard comprises an angularly upright stand 2 which is made from a length of substantially rigid tube metal material that is bent into an inverted U- shaped frame 4 having elongated feet 6 extending forwardly at an acute angle from the legs 8 thereof, to act as braces. The feet 6 are capped at their ends 10 and in addition have rounded button slides 12 secured to the undersides thereof at their junctures with the legs 8 of the frame. In order to rigidify the frame 4, the legs 8 are joined by a stiff cross plate 14 which is bent and shaped at its ends to form opposing channels 16 which fit snugly over the legs 8 and enable the plate 14 to be screwed or otherwise fastened to the frame.

The stand 2 acts as a gantry for a beltlike body harness 18 which is suspended by means of a chain 20 from a hook 22 fastened to the top thereof. The harness 18 comprises a sturdy leather strap 24 which has a buckle 26 and grommet 28 at its ends so that it can be secured about the chest of a patient P in use. The length of the strap 24 is adjustable at the buckle 26 so that once the harness is attached to the patient, it can be tightened to maintain a close grip on the upper trunk of his body.

In use, the stand 2 is placed in a straddling position over a toilet bowl 30, the patient is seated on the bowl, and the harness I8 is attached to him. Should the patient experience a syncope reaction, the chain 20 has sufficient length to allow the patients head and upper trunk to fall forward from the sitting position, into a slumped downward position above the floor. However, once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor, thus assuring continued circulation of his blood to his brain. See FIG. 2. During periods of consciousness, the patient is free to move his trunk and head as he pleases, and his comfort is in no way impaired.

Moreover, during this time he may be unattended since the syncope guard not only assures his safety, but also provides for alerting an attendant to his condition when he loses consciousness. The cross plate 14 has a conventional bike horn 32 mounted thereon, together with a hooked actuating lever 34 which is pivotably mounted above the horn on the face of the plate. The lever 34 is normally retained in an inoperative position by a small spring clip 36 (FIG. 3) wrapped about the hinge pin thereof. After the patient is comfortably seated and strapped into the harness, one link of the chain 20 is passed over the hook 38 of the lever so as to take up much of the slack in the chain. In addition, the remaining slack may be taken up by a coiled spring 40 attached between the upper hook 22 and a lower link in the chain. When the patient falls forward into the slumped downward position of FIG. 2, the lever 34 is pivoted against the button 42 of the horn 32 to sound it for anyone within earshot of himv Of course, so long as he remains in the slumped downward position, the sound of the horn continues, thus assuring that his condition does not escape attention.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a flexible cord 44 is substituted for the chain 20 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, and the cord 44 is connected to the stand 2 by a sleeve 46 which is slidably mounted over one leg 8' of the frame 4' to abut the button of a bike horn 32 secured at another point thereon. The cord 44 is first passed over a pulley 48 at the top of the stand so as to suspend the harness (not shown) therefrom; and a coiled spring 50 is employed to draw the sleeve 46 down against a slidable stop 52 fastened on the leg, thus maintaining the cord 44 in taut condition during periods of normal use. When the patient experiences a syncope reaction, the force of his body extends the cord against the bias of the spring 50, until the sleeve 46 abuts the horn 32' and prohibits it from traveling any further. The positions of the stop 52 and the horn 32 are preset to assure that the patients head and upper trunk do not fall beyond the limited downward position shown in FIG. 2.

In the embodiment of FIGS. -7, the frame 54 of the stand 56 again has an inverted U-shaped configuration, but in this instance the stand is supported on the floor at points forward of the toilet bowl 60. Two pairs of braces 62 and 64 extend from the stand within the angle thereof, to maintain its position on the floor. One pair of braces 62 is pivotally connected to the lower half of the frame, and extended downwardly to rest on the floor at points relatively behind the bowl. The other pair of braces 64 is pivotally connected to the upper half of the frame, and interconnected by a flat crossbar 66 which is inserted between the toilet seat 68 and the bowl, to rest on the bowl adjacent the hinge 70 about which the forward edge of the seat is lifted from the bowl. In this way, the weight of a patient sitting on the seat effectively secures the upper braces 64 to the seat, and prevents the stand from tipping forward whenever the patients body slumps into the downward position illustrated in FIG. 2.

Also in this embodiment, the harness 72 is tethered to the stand by an adjustable leather strap 74 which serves also as the means for actuating the alarm device 76. The device 76 takes the form of a battery-operated horn 78 which is operated when the electrical circuit through the horn from the batteries 80, is grounded to the stand. The horn and batteries are encased within a tubular housing 82 which is closed at the righthand end of the same in FIG. 7 by a cap 84 that also serves to spring load the batteries against the rear contact face of the horn. The other contact takes the form of a leaf spring 86 which is secured on the outside of the housing above the bight 54' of the frame.

The alarm device 76 is movably mounted on the stand by means of a pair of threaded stud pins 88 which are projected from the housing through holes in the bight of the frame, and interconnected with one another on the other side of the frame by a yoke 90 and nuts 92 which allow sufficient slack for the housing to shift in relation to the frame. Caged about the pins, between the housing and the upper side of the frame, however, is a pair of coil springs 98 which operate to yieldably bias the housing, and thus the leaf contact 86, away from the frame. In this way, the battery circuit through the horn is opened until the bias of the springs 98 is overcome by a force which depresses the yoke 90 in the downward direction away from the bight of the frame.

Such a force is transmitted by the strap 74 when the patient experiences a syncope reaction and slumps forward from his sitting position. The strap is secured to the yoke at its upper end, and the harness 72 on its lower free end is passed about the patient 5 upper trunk to arrest him in the slumped forward position. The ends of the harness are outfitted with mating Velcro strips 96 by which the harness is secured about the patients trunk.

While these three embodiments properly illustrate the invention, it will be understood that they are illustrative only and that many modifications and additions can be made in and to the invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the same as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a seat above a floor, and a syncope guard therewith comprising a stand mounted adjacent the seat, a harness which is attachable to the body of a person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction, his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward condition above the floor, but once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor, an alarm device, and actuator means on the stand which are, connectable to the body of the person and operatively connected to the device to sound the alarm when the persons body slumps into the aforesaid downward position above the floor.

2. The combination according to claim I wherein the actuator means are movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the actuator means to sound the alarm by moving the actuator means in relation to the stand.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the alarm device is fixedly mounted on the stand, so that the actuator means are also movable in relation to it in sounding the alarm.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the alarm device is mounted on the stand.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the device to sound the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand.

6. The combination according to claim 1 wherein a portion of the stand extends upwardly above the trunk of the persons body when he is in the sitting position, and the harness is suspended from a point on the aforesaid upwardly extending portion of the stand, and attachable about the upper trunk of the person s body.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the harness is suspended on an elongated tether which is interconnected to the stand with sufficient slack to allow the upper trunk and head of the persons body to slump into the downward position above the floor, but to go no further.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the slack is taken up by resilient tensioning device which is interconnected between the stand and the tether to cause the latter to assume a substantially taut condition while the person is in the sitting position during periods of consciousness.

9. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the tether is connected to the device to actuate the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand.

10. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the actuator means are movably mounted on the stand, and the tether is connected to the actuator means to sound the alarm by moving the actuator means in relation to the stand.

1 1. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the stand is supported on the floor.

12. The combination according to claim 11 wherein the stand has an inverted U-shaped configuration and is positioned at an angle to the floor, there being braces which extend from the stand within the angle to maintain its position on the floor.

13. The combination according to claim 12 wherein the braces rest on the seat.

14 The combination according to claim 13 wherein the seat takes the form of a toilet seat which can be lifted from the bowl, and the braces are interconnected by a crossbar which is inserted between the seat and the bowl to secure the braces to the seat under the weight of the persons body.

15. The combination according to claim 12 wherein the braces rest on the floor.

16. A syncope guard for use with persons sitting on a seat above a floor, comprising a stand adapted to be mounted adjacent the seat, a harness which is attachable to the body of the person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction. his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward position above the floor. but once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor, an alarm device, and actuator means on the stand which are connectable to the body of the person and operatively connected to the device to sound the alann when the person's body slumps into the aforesaid downward position above the floor.

17. The syncope guard according to claim 16 wherein the actuator means are movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the actuator means to sound the alarm by moving the actuator means in relation to the stand.

18. The syncope guard according to claim 16 wherein the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the device to sound the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand. 

1. In combination, a seat above a floor, and a syncope guard therewith comprising a stand mounted adjacent the seat, a harness which is attachable to the body of a person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction, his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward condition above the floor, but once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor, an alarm device, and actuator means on tHe stand which are, connectable to the body of the person and operatively connected to the device to sound the alarm when the person''s body slumps into the aforesaid downward position above the floor.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the actuator means are movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the actuator means to sound the alarm by moving the actuator means in relation to the stand.
 3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the alarm device is fixedly mounted on the stand, so that the actuator means are also movable in relation to it in sounding the alarm.
 4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the alarm device is mounted on the stand.
 5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the device to sound the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand.
 6. The combination according to claim 1 wherein a portion of the stand extends upwardly above the trunk of the person''s body when he is in the sitting position, and the harness is suspended from a point on the aforesaid upwardly extending portion of the stand, and attachable about the upper trunk of the person''s body.
 7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the harness is suspended on an elongated tether which is interconnected to the stand with sufficient slack to allow the upper trunk and head of the person''s body to slump into the downward position above the floor, but to go no further.
 8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the slack is taken up by resilient tensioning device which is interconnected between the stand and the tether to cause the latter to assume a substantially taut condition while the person is in the sitting position during periods of consciousness.
 9. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the tether is connected to the device to actuate the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand.
 10. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the actuator means are movably mounted on the stand, and the tether is connected to the actuator means to sound the alarm by moving the actuator means in relation to the stand.
 11. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the stand is supported on the floor.
 12. The combination according to claim 11 wherein the stand has an inverted U-shaped configuration and is positioned at an angle to the floor, there being braces which extend from the stand within the angle to maintain its position on the floor.
 13. The combination according to claim 12 wherein the braces rest on the seat.
 14. The combination according to claim 13 wherein the seat takes the form of a toilet seat which can be lifted from the bowl, and the braces are interconnected by a crossbar which is inserted between the seat and the bowl to secure the braces to the seat under the weight of the person''s body.
 15. The combination according to claim 12 wherein the braces rest on the floor.
 16. A syncope guard for use with persons sitting on a seat above a floor, comprising a stand adapted to be mounted adjacent the seat, a harness which is attachable to the body of the person sitting on the seat, and interconnected with the stand so that when the person has a syncope reaction, his head and upper trunk can fall forward from the sitting position into a slumped downward position above the floor, but once he is in the latter position, the harness arrests his fall and retains his head and upper trunk above the floor, an alarm device, and actuator means on the stand which are connectable to the body of the person and operatively connected to the device to sound the alarm when the person''s body slumps into the aforesaid downward position above the floor.
 17. The syncope guard according to claim 16 wherein the actuator means are movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the actuator means to sound the alarm by moving tHe actuator means in relation to the stand.
 18. The syncope guard according to claim 16 wherein the alarm device is movably mounted on the stand, and the harness is connected to the device to sound the alarm by moving the device in relation to the stand. 